A Great Definition of a Good Performance

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“A good performance is not manufactured behavior. It is genuine behavior in a manufactured setting.”

—Michael Port from Episode 203 of the Smart Passive Income Podcast

I listened to this episode of Pat Flynn’s wonderful podcast quite a while ago but this quote stuck with me. Michael Port is the author of a great book called Book Yourself Solid that taught me an awful lot about booking myself as a freelancer.

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Being genuine is a hard thing to define but reminds me of a famous quote by former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart. In a 1964 case he avoided trying to define “hard-core” pornography but famously said “but I know it when I see it.”

Being genuine is the same way. It’s a hard thing to define but I sure can spot it from the next room when someone is not being genuine.

During my time in Boston Brass, all five members of the group got on the microphone at least once during every concert. The only time any of us ever struggled on the mic was when we were trying to be something that we’re not. When I would try to be as funny as my colleague Lance LaDuke, which I’m not. When I would try to be as direct with the audience as my colleague JD Shaw, which I can’t pull off. Not that it was cringe-worthy or anything, it just wasn’t me.

This brings me back to Michael Port’s definition of a good performance. It is not manufacturing behavior for the sake of that performance. It is being yourself within the manufactured setting that define the performance. And that comes from practice and reps and more practice.

Miles Davis once famously said “Man, sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself.” That is true as a musician and that is also true of all other kinds of performers. As a speaker, a lecturer, a teacher, a coach, a consultant.

The freeing thing is that all we have to do is get good at acting like ourselves in a weird, restricted and manufactured environment. It would be a lot harder if we had to learn how to be someone else on top of that.

TEM199: Thank you

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TEM199: Thank you

A heartfelt thank you and a look back on the last 100 episodes of TEM.

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the show in any way and enabled me to get to 200 episodes

  • Lessons learned from a handful of conversations that have occurred since TEM100

  • The cost of not being yourself

  • Using thoroughly researched methods

  • Finding your own personal creative rhythm

  • Giving yourself permission to pursue the passions in your life that you've been putting off

  • The importance of getting the right message to the right audience in as clean and concise manner as possible

  • Should you pivot, persevere, or punt?

Links:

Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!

1. Hear an extra TEM episode every single week while helping me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by becoming a patron today: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast

2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

TEM198: 40,000 songs a day (TEM Short)

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TEM198: 40,000 songs a day (TEM Short)

Some quick thoughts on a stunning statistic.

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • The insane statistic that Ari Herstand shared in TEM197

  • What this statistic means for all of us

  • Once we make amazing the work is not done

  • A quote from the future!

Links:

Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!

1. Hear an extra TEM episode every single week while helping me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by becoming a patron today: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast

2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

TEM197: The democratization of the new music business and polite persistence - A conversation with Ari Herstand

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TEM197: The democratization of the new music business and polite persistence - A conversation with Ari Herstand

Ari Herstand is a musician in Los Angeles and the author of How to Make It in the New Music Business.

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • The swell of "middle class" musicians in the new music business

  • Vulfpeck has no label and no manager and yet just sold out Madison Square Garden

  • The old music business had one way to succeed - the new music business has 100 ways you can make a career happen

  • The most important thing any musician can do according to Ari

  • Why you can't have a Plan B

  • The democratization of the music business and the ability of any artist to reach an audience without being granted permission first by a gatekeeper

  • Polite persistence

  • Ari's very specific advice on writing a great pitch email

Links:

Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!

1. Hear an extra TEM episode every single week while helping me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by becoming a patron today: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast

2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

TEM196: Why Starbucks isn't overpriced

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TEM196: Why Starbucks isn't overpriced

Why I don't think Starbucks is overpriced even though I'm not a fan of their coffee.

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • How Starbucks sells more than just coffee

  • Why artists must think about the entire experience we are offering rather than just the art in a vacuum

  • A reminder that not everyone will sign up for the experience you are offering

  • What we as artists can learn from a world-class restaurant

Links:

  • TEM Extra: Episode 10 - A bonus episode with Mark G. Meadows discussing the vital need to outsource aspects of your business, the advice he would give to his college-aged self if he could go back in time, and the importance of creating a network early because you will need people along the way

Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!

1. Hear an extra TEM episode every single week while helping me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by becoming a patron today: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast

2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

TEM195: I've never heard of you (and that's not a problem)

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TEM195: I've never heard of you (and that's not a problem)

Why we shouldn't sweat it when someone who is our ideal potential customer has never heard of us.

***Let me help you connect with more fans and make more money in the music business. Get a free consultation from TEM Coaching today***

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • The reminder I received last week that you no one has heard of everything

  • Why we can't spend a lot of energy worrying about people having heard of us or our art rather than making art the world can't live without

  • The YouTube channel I'd never heard of that has over 10 million subscribers (and that makes content I love!)

Links:

Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!

1. Hear an extra TEM episode every single week while helping me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by becoming a patron today: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast

2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

TEM194: It's all about engagement

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TEM194: It's all about engagement

Whether it's prospective clients or already converted true fans, it's all about engagement.

***Let me help you connect with more fans and make more money in the music business. Get a free consultation from TEM Coaching today***

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • Why engagement is more important in today's music business than ever before

  • Remarkable examples of audience engagement from Time for Three, Travelin' Light and Phish

  • True fan engagement at its best courtesy of Taylor Swift and Umphrey's McGee

  • How to engage with prospective clients in a remarkable way

Links:

Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!

1. Help me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

TEM193: Finding your five adjectives and the power of outsourcing - A conversation with acclaimed artist Mark G. Meadows

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TEM193: Finding your five adjectives and the power of outsourcing - A conversation with acclaimed artist Mark G. Meadows

Mark G. Meadows is a musician, actor and teacher based in the Washington DC area and my colleague at Shenandoah Conservatory.

On Today’s Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • Why being a good person comes out in your music and in your relationships

  • The universe will tell you what your passion is if you listen to it

  • The crazy story about Mark landing a lead role in a musical when he wasn’t an actor!

  • Mark’s remarkable bio (it includes a mission statement!) and how being an outsider growing up informs that mission statement and his art to this day

  • Finding your five adjectives

  • Why the best feedback can sometimes come from people you don’t know

  • Outsourcing and why anything you can teach someone else to do is something you shouldn’t be doing yourself

  • A reminder that everything (from delegating tasks to making your art) is a practice

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Did you know there are two episodes of TEM every single week? TEM Extra is a weekly episode available exclusively to patrons of the show.

On Last Week’s TEM Extra:

  • Why most people will be against you whenever you try to change the culture somewhere

  • One hell of a quote from Les Brown about aiming high and dreaming big

  • The importance of consistently shipping your art when it comes to converting people into true fans (and serving the true fans you already have!)

Listen to last week's TEM Extra here.

Links:

Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!

1. Help me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

TEM192: Don't let technology use you - A conversation on productivity with Lance LaDuke

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TEM192: Don't let technology use you - A conversation on productivity with Lance LaDuke

For this week's episode I am joined by my Pedal Note Media partner, Lance LaDuke, for a conversation on technology and productivity.

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • If you make something for 90 days in a row and then don't on day 91, would anyone notice?

  • Thinking of a social media platform as an infinity pool and realizing you are the product

  • The entrepreneurial lessons you can learn from a trip to the grocery store

  • The spirit behind minimalism and how it can apply to entrepreneurs

  • Carving out time to be creative as an individual or as an organization

  • Finding your creative rhythm and knowing when in the day to do your creative work and when to do your busy work

  • The shifting collaborative schedule this fall for Pedal Note Media and how we finally seemed to have settled on a good rhythm

  • Lance's trick to not waste hours a day on social media

  • Having the self-awareness to know when it would be best for you to change a behavior or some aspect of your life

  • A system that Lance used this summer to leverage a Sudoku game he was playing into regular productivity

  • How good we both are at doing busy work done when we have important work to do

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Did you know there are two episodes of TEM every single week? TEM Extra is a weekly episode available exclusively to patrons of the show.

On Last Week's TEM Extra:

  • A tweet by Dan Hockenmaier that exaggerates a point about how passion isn't everything but still hits on something incredibly important

  • Making art that fills a need

  • Some wisdom from Yoko Ono via fellow musician Alan Theisen about living on someone else's schedule

  • Going against the grain of the many different cultures we are all engrained within (and why that's so hard sometimes)

  • The career course corrections I am constantly experiencing by interviewing such brilliant people for TEM

Head to Patreon to gain access today!

Links:

Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!

1. Help me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Tweet of the Week: Seth Godin

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(Every once in a while this weekly post will feature something that’s not a tweet! I just don’t know what else to call this series of posts and most of them will be tweets so I’m going to keep calling it the Tweet of the Week.

Okay, enough about how the sausage is made around here…)

This week’s post is about a quick passage from a great episode of Seth Godin’s Akimbo podcast. Akimbo is a weekly podcast that Seth has been doing for a while now. I am almost an entire year behind! I tend to listen to his stuff so closely that I can’t ever have it on “in the background” but I am making an effort to work my way through them. So much good material!

This clip is from his episode titled Thrash Now. (It’s pretty cool that you can share podcast episodes with time stamps so it goes straight to the part in question!)

In this clip, he talks about changing the culture of something. He says that if 2/3 of people think you are too early, you have a chance to change the culture. That really got me thinking.

Change is hard for all humans. It can be even harder when humans get together and form an institution. So changing the culture of an institution (or a specific corner of the music business) can be very difficult.

I like that Seth specifically says that to have any real shot at changing the culture somewhere that the people who aren’t down with what you’re doing (or at least not when you’re doing it) will outnumber the people on board by a full 2 to 1 ratio! I find this kind of empowering.

Meaningful change is important and difficult and we always have to go in with our eyes wide open. It is a gift that Seth has told us ahead of time that way more people than not won’t be ready for it. It also serves to take that away from us as a usable excuse for not proceeding.

Thank you, Seth!

TEM191: Keep asking

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TEM191: Keep asking

Sometimes all you have to do is keep asking. Or do you?

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

  • The no's will come and you just have to keep asking

  • Getting the three yes's takes a lot of rejection

  • The limitless number of reasons why someone may say no to you at any given moment

  • Keep showing up

  • Sometimes you just have to find your people rather than trying to turn others into your people (and this also goes for institutions)

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Did you know there are two episodes of TEM every single week? TEM Extra is a weekly episode available exclusively to patrons of the show.

On Last Week's TEM Extra:

  • The list of traits Gary Vauynerchuk values more than skills

  • The most important things to look for in a business partner

  • A reminder from Eunbi Kim on the importance of contracts and planning for worst case scenarios

  • Putting my money where my mouth is (in regards to if no one ever thinks you charge too much money then you aren't charging enough)

Head to Patreon to gain access today!

Want to help the show? Here's a couple of ways you can do that!

1. Help me get to my next goal of $100 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. My next Apple Podcasts goal is 150 ratings and 75 reviews. Take just a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help me get there. Thank you!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes